Football Position Preview: Special Teams

Bucknell's Pechin Named to All-ECAC First Team

8/22/2018 2:53:00 PM | Football

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Alex Pechin cemented his status as one of the nation's elite punters in 2017. With a punting average of 45.1, he finished third among FCS punters and shattered his own school record by three full yards. Of his 72 punts, tied for second in Bucknell's history, 34 landed inside the 20, 26 sailed for at least 50 yards and 22 went for fair catches; in the season finale at Fordham, he averaged a staggering 50.9 yards per punt, bolstered by the sixth- (67) and ninth- (64) longest punts in the Bison annals.

Head coach Joe Susan expects more of the same from Pechin in 2018, noting that the senior captain has a big impact on the game even though he's not an every-down player.

"Having a weapon like Alex changes the field," Susan said. "He can kick a 70-yarder, and he can put you down inside the one-yard line. College football is still a field-position game, and winning the field-position battle increases your chances of winning."

Check out our latest #BandOfBison spotlight, featuring our returning All-American and 🐐 punter Alex Pechin. #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/8arMsIzrw2
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) August 22, 2018

Susan also praised Pechin, a 2017 STATS Third Team All-American and two-time All-Patriot League First Team honoree, for mastering some of the finer elements of his craft.

"Alex has become a much better situational punter since his freshman year," Susan said. "He's mastered the Aussie punt, where he kicks it end over end and it stops on a dime. He's mastered punting on the run. He's always had a tremendous leg. When we had NFL scouts on campus to watch Julién [Davenport] and Abdullah [Anderson], they all stopped to watch Alex when they heard the sound the ball made coming off his foot. It's something else, and the ball always skyrockets."

Sophomore Ethan Torres will again handle kickoffs in 2018. With John Burdick, who matched Bucknell's school record with 14 field goals a year ago, lost to graduation, he will also take over placekicking duties and has proven consistent throughout camp. Torres's fellow sophomore Mike Colantuono will handle snapping while Pechin will continue to hold.

Wide receiver Alan Butler and cornerback Bryan Marine are expected to take both kickoff and punt returns while wide receiver Stefone Moore-Green, who led the Bison with 388 kickoff return yards in 2017, will also be utilized as kickoff returners. Susan acknowledged that Bucknell, which ranked near the bottom of the Patriot League in both categories a season ago, must improve its return game.

NOTES: The Bison have five kickers on their 2018 roster: two seniors, one sophomore and two freshmen ... Beyond Butler, Marine and Moore-Green, wide receivers Justin Bethea, Dominic Lyles and Brandon Sanders have also taken repetitions as both kickoff and punt returners ... Lyles and Sanders, both freshmen, have flashed explosiveness during returns ... Special teams coordinator Steven King said the competition for playing time on special teams has been exciting to watch in camp ... Pechin was named to four Preseason All-America First Teams: STATS, Phil Steele, Hero Sports and College Sports Madness; he was also one of two Bison voted to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team, joining fellow captain Pat Finn ... In 2017, Pechin became the eighth Bison to be honored as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year; the Biomedical Engineering/Management for Engineers major was also named to the Academic All-Patriot League and FCS ADA Academic All-Star Teams ... Pechin has consistently outraced his fellow skill players during wind sprints ... Torres has proven he has a strong leg and has regularly connected on field goals of more than 40 yards ... Susan said Torres is improving on kickoffs, noting he has done a better job of forcing fair catches ... Torres was one of three Bison who shaved their heads to raise pediatric cancer awareness as part of the football team's fundraising for Vs. Cancer, joining Renn Lints and Drew Newcomb ... Jack Chambers, a senior, and Chandler Turner, a freshman, provide solid depth at kicker ... Alex Apgar, who joined the team midway through camp as walk-on kicker/punter, is the lone Massachusetts native on the 2018 roster.